6–10 Jul 2026
University of the Western Cape
Africa/Johannesburg timezone
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Quantum surface plasmon resonance (SPR) for healing plants

7 Jul 2026, 09:50
20m
Lecture Hall DL1 (University of the Western Cape)

Lecture Hall DL1

University of the Western Cape

Oral Presentation Track C - Photonics Photonics

Speaker

Patrick Kinsey (University of Pretoria)

Description

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) spectroscopy is a promising technology which can enable the real-time, label-free analysis of biomolecular interactions with high sensitivity. In plant pathology and agriculture, SPR measurements will allow the rapid identification of biomarkers related to disease or stress and can significantly improve the outcomes for plant health and crop yields by allowing for early intervention to be implemented. In this presentation, we discuss the implementation of classical and quantum SPR setups at the University of Pretoria that will be used for early disease detection in crops and indigenous trees. To demonstrate our classical SPR setup, we characterise the kinetic parameters for the adsorption of bovine serum albumin (BSA) to a thin gold film. We then present simulation results that demonstrate the quantum advantage in SPR sensitivity that can be gained when using two-photon Fock states (i.e., entangled photons) instead of laser light for excitation. We also discuss how this quantum advantage can benefit the quality of SPR results for early plant disease detection. Finally, we present our progress towards implementing a quantum SPR setup with preliminary results and calibrations.

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Author

Patrick Kinsey (University of Pretoria)

Co-authors

Dr J.A. Nöthling (University of Pretoria) Prof. Tjaart Krüger (University of Pretoria)

Presentation materials